First Satellite Images of IL-76 Aircraft Crash Near Belgorod Emerged
The photos were taken on January 31 – the journalists of the RFE/RL investigative journalism project “Schemes: Corruption in Details” report.
A trail left by the aircraft during the crash extends for about 500 meters.
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IL-76 aircraft crashed near the village of Yablonovo in Belgorod Oblast on January 24.
The Ministry of Defense of the russian federation claims that there were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board, who were being taken for an exchange.
The Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine confirmed that prisoner exchange was scheduled for January 24, but did not take place. At the same time, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine has no reliable information about who was in the aircraft. According to some reports, russian officials were supposed to use it, but the Federal Security Service forbade them to do it at the last moment.
At the same time, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine cautiously confirmed its involvement in the shootdown, saying that russia was transporting ammunition on the board of Il-76 to fire Ukraine’s border areas.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would insist on an international investigation of this case.
Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets sent official letters to the UN as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross, asking to join the inspection of the crash site of the IL-76 aircraft.
But instead, the UN stated that it could not verify circumstances of the aircraft`s crash and whether there were any Ukrainian prisoners of war on board.
Earlier War Ukraine-Russia News Hub reported that russia was not ready to hand over the bodies of Ukrainian prisoners of war allegedly were in Il-76 aircraft.
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